I find myself thinking about “Hope” frequently, and I have come to a few conclusions about “hope”:

1. There is not enough “hope” in our world. We, too often, are inundated with negative images and messages, which makes it hard sometimes to believe in the goodness in our world.

2. We need to remind ourselves and each other that hope does exist in our world.

3. It is hard to share what “hope” means with another person, especially when that person is in the middle of an extremely difficult time.

Over the next four weeks, I want to offer both an invitation and a challenge.  The invitation is to help us put words and flesh to what “hope” means to us in our daily lives.  The challenge is two-fold:  To both pay attention to where you find hope in your life AND to share it with someone else in your life.  I invite you to share what hope means to you via comments on the blog, on facebook, or on twitter or even via a poem, a picture or a song. 

To begin with, I want to offer one of my thoughts on what hope means to me:

Hope does not mean there is no darkness in our lives.  Darkness, difficulties, challenges, and hurts are part of our lives.  However, hope is the belief that there is always light in the darkness, too, that is intertwined, woven around, and piercing every hard, difficult, challenging situation.  Hope often shows itself it the smallest of ways, and when the crack of light comes through the darkness it empowers us to believe in something beyond ourselves.  

 How would you fill in this sentence…Hope is _____?
WHere do you see and experience hope in our lives?
Who, in your life, needs to be reminded that there is reason to remain hopeful?

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.